Well, good morning, everyone.
Excellent.
Well, if you have a Bible, would you turn to Ephesians chapter 4?
If you don't have a Bible, there's Bibles scattered in the pews around us.
It's imperative if we're going to hear God's voice this morning that we have His words
open in front of us.
So why don't you turn to Ephesians chapter 4?
And let's pause just before we begin and let's pray together.
Let's pray.
Father, we thank you for our time together this morning.
And we thank you now for your words.
And we come to it expectantly that we would hear from you.
And we would echo the words that we've sung just a few minutes ago that our hearts would
be changed and renewed.
And we pray this in Jesus' name and for His glory.
Amen.
So here is Thomas McIntyre.
In 2013, he was named Slimming World's Man of the Year.
He went from, get your head around this one, okay?
He went from 31 stone to 13 stone.
And it gets better than that.
He went from an extra, extra, extra, extra, extra, extra, extra, extra.
That's eight large to a medium.
It's pretty impressive stuff, isn't it?
But picture this.
After the service this morning, you decide to go for a stroll around the meadows just outside.
And in the distance in your vision, you see Thomas.
There he is.
And you think, this is the guy who's the Slimming World Man of the Year 2013.
I need to meet this guy.
But as Thomas gets closer to you, actually something strikes you as being a bit odd about him.
Because he's wearing the same clothes that he used to wear.
So he's wearing a ridiculously baggy shirt.
He's wearing trousers that he's got the belt right to the end.
And he's tucking it in.
He's holding them up with his hands.
What would you say to Thomas?
Would you say, Thomas, great to see you.
Well done on that award.
You're looking great.
No, of course you wouldn't say that.
You would say, Tommy boy, you look ridiculous.
You are not that person anymore.
Why are you dressing like the old you?
Dress and clothe yourself in a way that goes with the new you.
And you see, that is the Apostle Paul's big point this morning.
Clothe yourselves in a way that goes with the new you.
First three chapters of this letter, Paul's been unpacking these glorious truths about what God has done for us in the gospel.
And now he turns to say that this is what your worshipful response to what God has done should be.
And our verses this morning, they're a passionate plea from Paul for these Christians in Ephesus to understand, to grasp, to get their heads around the reality of what God has done for them in the gospel.
And to see how that compels them to live such a different life, a completely different life of radical righteousness to the glory of God and to the praise of his grace.
Clothe yourself in a way that goes with the new you.
And if you've got a Bible there in front of you, you'll see that this passage, it splits up nicely into two.
And we're just going to look at it in two sections this morning, really simply.
The new you and the new lifestyle.
The new life, the new lifestyle.
So let's read together verses 17 to 24, the first section there.
This is the new life.
Paul writes this.
So I tell you this and insist on it in the Lord.
That you must no longer live as the Gentiles.
You can read that as people who don't follow Jesus.
Live as the Gentiles do in the futility of their thinking.
They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of their ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.
Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity.
And they are full of greed.
And we'll pause there for just a second.
Because you see, before Paul goes on to talk about the new life, he wants these Ephesians to see the old life.
And this is the condition and the reality of what is going on in the lives of the people who are round about them who don't follow Jesus.
Now look at the words that Paul uses there in that section.
And I think he's put it together deliberately in a fashion to convey a downward movement.
Look with me.
It begins with hardness, doesn't it?
Hard hearts.
Then it moves to darkness.
And then it moves to recklessness.
Now isn't that a most chilling description of what a life is that doesn't know God?
Of a people who are just going with the default inclination of their sinful hearts and wanting nothing to do with the God who created them and choosing to go away from him.
It speaks of a people lost.
And it speaks of a people heading away from God.
Now the famous author C.S. Lewis, amongst his other works, he wrote a book called Surprised by Joy.
Maybe you've read it.
Can I thoroughly recommend it to you?
It's basically his autobiography.
And in it, he tells the story of when he first traveled to Oxford to go to university.
And he got off the train in Oxford and he started walking.
And as he walks along, he writes this.
He notices that the buildings are getting smaller.
He notices that the parks are getting less pretty.
He notices that the roads are getting narrower.
He notices that the streetlights are getting fewer.
And he notices that it's getting darker.
And he thinks to himself, is this the world famous Oxford I've heard so much about?
Is this the world famous Oxford that I've worked so hard to get to?
And then he stops.
And he turns around.
And in the distance, he sees the city skylight.
The spires.
The beautiful buildings.
The city lights.
That's Oxford.
And it suddenly dawns on him that from the minute that he left the train station,
he's been walking in the completely wrong direction.
And it's really interesting what he writes next.
He writes this.
I did not see it at the time, but this whole episode was an allegory of my life.
He was walking further and further away from the truth.
Now, if that's you this morning,
then see the reality of your spiritual condition as outlined in these verses in Ephesians.
You need to do what Lewis did.
You need to turn around.
The Bible would use the word repent.
You need to say sorry.
You need to turn around.
And you need to start walking towards the truth.
Now, what is the truth?
Well, Paul tells us, isn't he, in verse 20.
The truth that is in Jesus.
You need to put your faith in Jesus.
Now, faith, I think, is one of those words, isn't it?
I wonder if you'll agree with me that a culture is kind of hijacked.
People come up to me all the time and say,
Graham, I wish you had your faith.
And I say, well, it's simple to have my faith.
You just put your faith in Jesus.
Oh, no, I don't know if I want to have your faith.
Isn't that true?
The culture has hijacked that word,
that it's a kind of cross your fingers
and hope for the best expectation
that things are going to work out okay.
The thing about faith is,
it isn't how strong your faith is.
It's where your faith is.
Who is your faith in?
Now, a really simple definition of faith,
if you want it this morning,
this is something you may have heard from Sunday school,
I don't know, but I only heard it last week,
so I'm going with it.
Faith is forsaking all I trust him.
Okay, put your palm in front of you there,
let's do it together, okay?
Forsaking all I trust him.
Will you put your trust in what Jesus has done for you on the cross?
That God loves you outrageously,
but the thing is,
you are at odds with him because of your sin.
Jesus took the punishment.
God sent his one and only son
to take the punishment that you and I deserved,
because we are rebels walking in a manner
like the first three verses outlined there.
And if you haven't heard this before,
Jesus took your punishment.
He died your death.
And you go free.
The great substitution.
You need to put your faith and your trust in Jesus.
Forsaking all I trust him.
But Paul writes these verses
to help these Ephesian Christians see
that this is what they used to be like.
This is the old you.
This is the former way of your life.
And the thing to see, says Paul,
is that this is not who you are anymore.
Let's finish that little section,
verses 20 to 24.
Come with me.
Let's read it together.
Paul writes this.
That, however,
is not the way of life you learned
when you heard about Christ
and were taught in him
in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus.
You were taught,
with regard to your former way of life,
to put off the old self,
which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires,
to be made new
in the attitude of your minds
and to put on the new self,
created to be like God
in true righteousness and holiness.
Do you see what he's saying?
He's saying to these Christians
that God has done a total transformation job
on their lives.
That they were running away from him.
Your hearts wanted nothing to do with him.
Your minds knew nothing of him.
But God.
Do you remember we saw that in chapter 2
a few weeks ago?
It was maybe a few months ago.
I can't remember.
But God.
But God, in his grace,
he opened your eyes
to the truth of his son
and he put his spirit in you
and restored you to a relationship with him
like it was always meant to be
and he gave you new life.
And God united you to Jesus
and your life is hidden in him
and what's his is yours.
Paul's point is that they need to understand
and they need to embrace
the reality of what God has done for them in Christ.
Now Sinclair Ferguson,
a well-known Bible teacher,
good Scott as well,
he says this.
He says that the gospel
is a message of cosmic proportions.
The gospel is a message of cosmic proportions.
It's no small thing to be a Christian.
It's a big deal.
Now do you know what saddens me?
That sometimes, don't we,
we speak of our conversion?
That we speak of how Jesus opened our eyes?
It's no big deal.
Don't we?
We know how it goes
when you're telling your testimony,
when sometimes you're hearing someone's testimony,
it goes something like this, doesn't it?
That I was brought up in a Christian family.
That I prayed a prayer with a friend at camp
when I was seven.
And I've been living my life for Jesus,
following him ever since.
And we frame it, don't we,
as if it's not a big deal.
That it was almost a formality.
That it was almost inevitable.
And we put it together like we're embarrassed.
Don't we?
Now listen, little Chloe,
I hope she grows up to have
the most boring testimony in the world.
Isn't that true?
And then we hear the story of someone
who has a dramatic testimony
and we somehow think that's a bigger deal
than what's happened to us.
Now I wonder if you're here this morning
and maybe you need to grasp afresh again
what a joy it is to be a Christian.
The miracle of what God has done in your life.
It's a big deal and it's a costly deal
because it cost God his one and only son
to make it possible.
And notice as well that from these verses
that this is something these Ephesians
clearly already knew.
Verse 20 and 21.
They knew this stuff.
They'd heard it before.
They'd been taught it.
They learned it.
But they needed reminded of it.
We need to understand the reality
of what God has done in our lives.
If you're a Christian here this morning,
you're not the old self.
You're not the old self.
You're the new self.
Isn't that amazing?
And Paul says two things in response to that.
Firstly, like we sang in the song earlier,
he says,
be transformed by the renewing of your minds.
So what does he want them to do?
He wants them to think differently.
He wants them to orientate their whole lives
towards God.
Now how do we renew our minds?
That's a good question, isn't it?
How do we do that?
Well, we read God's word.
We hear God's voice.
We bask ourselves in the Bible.
We saturate ourselves in Scripture.
We invest ourselves wholly in this book
because as we read it,
we hear God's voice.
Friends, are we devoting ourselves to God's word?
Every day, daily, are we doing this?
Are we letting God's word speak into our lives?
Because we know it's true, don't we?
That either culture outside is going to be telling us
how to interpret the world,
how to understand ourselves.
It's either going to be culture that's telling us that
or it's going to be God's words.
God is telling us that.
And we need to read our Bibles expectantly
every time we come to them
and pray that God would transform our minds
by his spirit.
You know, it was St. Patrick,
patron saint of Ireland,
who famously prayed these words,
Christ beside me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ within me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me.
And then he goes on to write,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down.
Do you see what he's praying?
He's praying that,
God, would you dominate my life?
Would you saturate my life?
Would I just be overcome
by an amazing sense of who you are?
So there we are.
Firstly, Paul,
be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Secondly,
well, this is where Paul turns into
a fashion consultant.
If you're a certain generation,
I don't know who that is,
Ralph Lauren?
Or if you're this generation,
is it Gokwan?
I'm not sure.
But he turns into a fashion advisor.
And he effectively goes into the wardrobes
of these Ephesian Christians
and he sits there and he goes,
well, that's got to go.
And that's got to go.
And that is definitely got to go.
You know,
I bought a mustard top.
You may have seen it a few weeks ago.
Alex hates it.
That's got to go.
But this is what he's saying.
He's saying that you need a new wardrobe
that goes with the new you.
And he starts using dressing language.
He starts using clothing language.
Now, of course,
he's not talking about physical clothes.
He's talking about how these Christians
are to behave.
This is how a follower of the Lord Jesus
is to clothe himself.
Clothe yourself in a way
that goes with the new you.
Put off the old self.
Put on the new self.
Now, what is that going to look like?
Well, do you notice how he doesn't leave them
to kind of speculate
or to try and figure it out for themselves?
He tells them exactly
what it's going to look like in their life.
So let's turn to the second part this morning,
the new lifestyle.
Verses 25 to 32.
Come with me.
Let's read it together.
Paul writes this.
Therefore,
each of you
must put off
falsehood
and speak truthfully
to your neighbor
for we are all members
of one body.
In your anger,
do not sin.
Do not let the sun go down
while you are still angry
and do not give the devil a foothold.
Anyone who has been stealing
must no longer steal
but must work
doing something useful
with their own hands
that they may have something
to share
with those in need.
Do not let
any unwholesome talk
come out of your mouths
but only
what is helpful
for building others up
according to their needs
that it may benefit
those who listen.
And do not grieve
the Holy Spirit of God
with whom you were sealed
for the day of redemption.
Get rid
of all bitterness,
rage,
and anger,
brawling and slander
along with every form
of malice.
Be kind
and compassionate
to one another
forgiving each other
just as Christ
God
forgave
you.
So this is the truth
that what God
has done
in them
should have
such a profound
effect on the way
that they live
their lives
and I think
in particular
in this section
how they behave
with one another
within this Christian
community.
So this is effectively
how they operate
as a church.
And I think
the easiest way
to understand this
is that he talks
about three body parts.
He talks about
their mouths.
He talks about
their hands.
And he talks
about their hearts.
So let's just
walk through
those three things.
Okay?
Firstly,
their mouths.
In light of the new
new,
put off falsehoods.
Put off lying,
slander,
gossiping,
vile language,
rumor spreading,
exaggeration,
unwholesome talk.
Now the word
unwholesome there,
it quite literally
means rottenness.
Do you see what
he's saying?
Get rid of
rotten talk.
Talk that has
as its aim
to tear someone
down.
Talk that has
as its aim
to delight
in the misfortune
of others.
It's just a
complete lack
of integrity
by the way
in which you
use your mouths.
Now do you know
who it's been
a bad week for?
FIFA.
Isn't it?
Bad week for FIFA.
Chris Bryant,
the Shadow Culture
Media and Sports
Secretary.
That's a great title,
isn't it?
Shadow Culture
Media and Sports
Secretary.
He said this.
He said,
Yesterday,
the whole world
saw that beneath
the mask,
the beautiful game
has a very ugly face.
Can anyone be
in doubt at all
that FIFA is
rotten to the core
and needs swift
and wholesome reform?
Question mark.
Isn't it?
There's an organization
this week that's been
accused of many things,
but essentially
what it boils down to,
dishonesty,
lying,
isn't it?
Falsehood.
FIFA have been
accused of.
But the trap
that we mustn't
fall into
as we read about
that kind of stuff
in the news
is to think that
falsehood is out
there somewhere.
We know it.
Don't we have to be
a lot closer to home?
I mean,
just think about
the places
that you work.
I walked in an office
environment for four years.
You know what it's like?
Think about the offices
where you work.
Think about the
sports teams
or the clubs
that you're a member of.
And dare I say it,
think about your
wider family.
Do we not know
it to be true
that our culture
and our own lives
at times,
are they not rife
with falsehoods?
And what Paul
is saying to these
Christians
is that the church,
the community
of grace,
the family of God
that you have been
grafted into,
there's to be
none of that.
You are to be
so radically different
by the way
that you use your mouth
in the world
that you live in.
Now it's said
of St. Augustine,
he's one of the
fathers of early
Christianity
in the West,
it's said of him
that he had a sign
above his dinner table
and it said,
a man who speaks
evil of an absent
man or woman
is not welcome
at this table.
Put off falsehoods.
In light of the new you,
put on truth
and grace.
speak truthfully
to one another.
Speak lovingly
to one another.
Speak gracious words.
Speak patient words.
Speak kind words.
Speak beneficial words.
Words that are going
to build somebody up,
not tear them down.
And you see,
I think the big idea
that we need to understand
from what he's saying
here to these Christians
is that their conversation
is to be a demonstration
of and a vehicle
for the grace of God.
Grace has to pour
off their lips.
You know,
I think if you think
back over your week,
what have your words
been like?
What have our words
been like?
We know it to be true,
don't we,
the destructive impact
that our words
can have.
Now we need to watch
in here,
we need to watch
how we're speaking
to one another.
We need to start thinking
about how we're speaking
of one another.
And we need to act
in accordance
with what Paul
is telling these
Ephesian Christians here.
That is how the mouth
of the new you speaks.
Second body parts,
the hands.
In light of the new you,
put off stealing.
Now I'd imagine
as Paul wrote this,
he's presumably
addressing people
that he's heard about
who are being lazy,
who aren't working,
and who are making
a living dishonestly.
And what he's saying
is that kind of lifestyle
has got no place
in the kingdom of God.
Now if you want to
contextualize that
into our speak,
he's effectively saying
don't be a people
who diddle your tax returns.
Don't be a people
who steal off
his stationery.
Don't be a people
that when your employer
is employing you
to do a job,
that you go and do
something else.
Do you see what he's saying?
He's saying put off
stealing,
put off dishonest living.
And in light of the new you,
put on generosity.
So what he's saying
is use your hands
in a way that glorifies God
and benefits others.
Use your hands
to contribute
to the work of the church.
Use your hands
to build others up.
Use your hands
to bless
your brothers
and sisters in Christ
whose hands
may well be failing.
And it leads us to ask,
doesn't it,
how are we using
our hands here this morning?
Are we using them generously?
Are we using our abilities
that God has given us
to bless our brothers
and sisters
to serve this church family?
And are we using
our possessions?
Are we using our money?
Are we using that kind of stuff
to build up the church?
That's how the hands
of the new you work.
Your mouths,
your hands,
thirdly,
let's look at the heart.
Paul writes this,
in light of the new you,
put off anger.
Now I think
in this passage,
isn't it,
we can read it
as almost as talking
about righteous anger.
Now there are things
as Christians
that we need to be angry about.
We need to be angry
about social injustice
in our community
and in the world.
We need to be angry
about our own sin
and how it offends God.
But I'm not convinced
that's what Paul's
big idea is here.
What he's saying is
that when we find
ourselves angry,
we need to be very,
very,
very careful.
And we need to be
very,
very careful
because your anger
is not to get
the better of you.
Don't let it master you.
That's his big point.
Now how do I know
if anger has mastered me?
Well I was thinking
about it this week.
The irony is,
by the way,
when you're studying anger
you realize how angry you are.
When something annoys you,
does it dominate your mind?
Can you not shrug it off?
Do you go to bed at night
thinking about it
and wake up in the morning
and think about it?
Does it cause you
to get bitter
and angry
against another person
when you replay it
over and over
and over again
in your mind?
Are you the one
that's always right?
That's how we know
it's mastered us.
What does he say?
He says,
put off anger.
Put off anger
and in the light
of the new you,
the new self,
put on forgiveness
and put on self-control.
And I think the big idea
here for us to understand
is that the day
of your anger
is to be the day
that you deal with it.
Don't allow
unsettled matters
to fester
because when they fester
they spread
and before you know it
you're not dealing
with a little scratch
in your arm,
you're dealing
with a gangrene,
you're dealing
with a limb
that needs to be cut off.
It spreads
and it festers
and we must commit
ourselves as a community
to not allow the devil
to have any opportunity
to put a bridge
separation
between us.
If you're not right
with somebody
in this room
then the uncomfortable
truth here
is that you need
to go and deal with it.
You need to go
and deal with it.
Don't hope
that you're going
to bump into the person
over there
in the coffee queue
and if it doesn't happen
you think
I'll just do it
next week.
Okay?
You've got to go
and do it.
You've got to get right
with one another
because remember
this isn't just
a moralism exercise
this is us representing
the holiness of God
this different community
that lives for Jesus
and how are people
going to recognize it
if they look in
and we're bickering
with one another?
Put off anger
put on forgiveness
and self-control.
That's how the heart
of the new you beats.
Put off the old self
put on the new self
be a holy community
be a community
that lives
and breathes
and beats
for Jesus Christ
in this world
of darkness.
Clothe yourselves
in a way
that goes
with the new you.
So let me ask you
this morning
how are you doing
with some of these things?
And let me make
two comments
just as we close.
Firstly
this is a battle
and because it's a battle
it's hard
but it's a battle
that you and I
we need to commit
ourselves to fighting.
We need to be
killing sin.
We need to be
spotting it in our lives
and putting it to death
because the truth is
if we're not putting
it to death
it will be putting us
to death.
If we're not killing it
it will be killing us.
Now do you remember
when I think
it was swine flu
I think
was doing the rounds
a few years ago?
Do you remember that?
Got one nod.
We'll go with it.
One nod.
And the government
didn't they?
They produced this
little slogan
to try and help us
as the public
to deal with it.
Do you remember
that slogan?
Catch it
bin it
kill it.
Did anybody do it?
I think I did it twice.
I actually went through it
and did it.
Catch it
bin it
kill it.
Same applies to our sin.
Got to be fighting it.
Every time
you see
the old self
making a fleeting appearance
and it happens so often
if you stop and think
about how often it happens
it happens all the time
when you see
the old self
making an appearance
catch it
bin it
kill it.
Maybe there's some
conversations
that you need to have
right after the service
to make that a reality.
Let's be making
every effort
to put off
the old self
and to put on
the new self.
Second comment
maybe all this talk
maybe actually
it just makes you
feel despondent
because you sit here
and you're listening to me
and you say
Graham I'm trying
really hard
I'm trying really hard
but see that old guy
see that old self
I just can't
control him.
He keeps making
an appearance
I keep struggling
in my Christian life
I've tried so hard
but it just seems futile.
Well can I just
encourage you
just as we close
can you see the
massive encouragement
that's in these verses
verse 30
God has given us
his Holy Spirit
the third person
of the Godhead
that God has placed
in our hearts
is a seal
that we are his
and the spirit's role
in our life
is to point us
to Christ
is to exalt
the work
of Christ
in our lives
to cause our eyes
and our minds
and our hearts
to focus
on him
to illuminate
his finished work
on the cross
because you see
this isn't about
us being perfect
you do not need
to feel weighed down
by the guilt
that you
are not so often
the new self
because Jesus
paid for your sin
on the cross
and the spirit
will illuminate that
and he'll draw you to it
Scottish pastor
from the past
Robert Murray McShane
he said
for every one look
at my sin
I take ten looks
at the cross
and the spirit
by God's grace
his agenda for us
is not to leave us
as we are
it's to make us
more like Jesus
now think about it
this way
if the old self
is over here
and the new self
is over here
if the world
is over here
if Jesus is over here
the spirit in us
is helping us
to go that way
isn't that an amazing
truth that God
hasn't left us
on our own
to figure this one out
that God hasn't
left us
just to rally on
without any help
he's chosen
to give us
his holy spirit
and I think
just really simply
from these verses
when we choose
to go with the old self
instead of the new self
we grieve the spirit
that's what he's talking about
and so the question
for us as we close
is are we walking
in step with the spirit
what an amazing
promise from God
now just as we close
something really practical
to help us this week
Friday I came to 4 o'clock
and I had no energy left
so I thought I would
do something useful
these little stickers
on it it just says
the new self
and an idea for you
this week
there's a ton of them
in that corner there
you can draw your own
you can do what you want
but let's this week
why don't we put this
above our wardrobes
yeah
and every time
you get changed
every time you put
on something
let's remind ourselves
to put on the new self
now poor Alex
Chloe's thrown up
all over at the minute
she's getting changed
a lot
but every time
you do it
go to the wardrobe
put it above your wardrobe
let's strive
to put on
put off the old self
and put on
the new self
just remember Tommy
walking around the meadows
your clothes
look ridiculous on you
let's put off
the old self
let's put on
the new self
let's clothe ourselves
in a way
that goes with the new you
let's pray
Father God
we thank you so much
this morning
for your precious words
Father thank you
that you haven't
left us to our own devices
to figure you out
but you've revealed
yourself to us
and thank you
that your word
is like a mirror
that as we look
into it
like we have this morning
our hearts are exposed
and we see the changes
that we need to make
and I pray for all of us
now as we think
through what we've read
that we would do
what we need to do
in response to that
in the silence now
would you be speaking
to us
and I pray for this church
Lord
that you would help us
to be a community
of radical righteousness
help us by your
precious Holy Spirit
to live in the light
of our new identity
in Christ
and this is our prayer
through his worthy
and precious name
Amen
God bless you
and out
will you
give us an app
and give us a
Понim бы
God bless you
turn to others
and we'll be
just
of course
for our
future
and this is our prayer
challenge
and we'll find out
in this opportunity
of the paradise
that we've got
there
of Jesus
and we'll emperor
know
and we'll see
that
and we'll see
in this容易
so
Rachel
what